Entwined Lines
by icynovas
Summary: [Cloud/Sephiroth. Time Travel AU]. After finding a strange time materia, Sephiroth catches glimpses of the same person in different points of his life as he himself grows up. The question is... why?
1. Chapter 1

Ah yes, my favorite thing to do is to bullshit materia effects. So many fics could be written by bullshitting materia effects.

This is a small project (3-4 chapters, to be specific) I've been working on for a while now. The rating is subject to change at the end but for now, nothing that should be noted on.

Also, I'm doing this on the basis that Sephiroth was 22 when the Nibelheim incident occurred.

* * *

**Entwined Lines**

VII - X

* * *

At seven, Sephiroth stumbled upon a set of materia professor Gast was doing a side-research on, carefully hidden in the labs. He remembered what the man had taught him about their uses and origins as he examined them closely - curiously - his eyes then falling on one in particular.

It was dim, the light all the other materia had absent from it. Even more curious, Sephiroth read the notes the professor wrote about it, his heart tugging upon seeing the hand-writing he used to see on the various items the professor had gifted him.

_[Suspected to be an altered time materia. Translation shows the repeat of the words "Fate" and "Bonds". More research to follow]._

Sephiroth held the materia up, inspecting it under the light in hopes of finding anything to prove it as a time materia. It was _colorless_; time materia weren't supposed to be colorless.

He was too engrossed that it took him a moment too long to notice the increasing heat he felt on his finger-tips. Sephiroth didn't let go of the materia, though, not even when it became searingly hot.

It shone with color, _many_ colors, and Sephiroth was transfixed by the display to care that standing up was suddenly proving to be difficult.

Then his world turned into black.

* * *

When Sephiroth came to, he found himself on a bed, with someone - a boy, he corrected, and not that far from his age - peering curiously at him.

Sephiroth blinked, and the boy blinked back - right before he turned away to call, "Mom! He woke up!"

By the time he found the strength to sit up, a blonde woman, probably the boy's mother, was standing next to the bed he was lying on, fixing a pillow for him to lean on. "Do you feel alright, darling?"

_Darling?_ He wasn't addressed in that way normally, but the warmth in the woman's tone stopped him from correcting her. "Yes." His throat felt rather dry, though.

As if sensing this, the woman told her son to get a glass of water, taking the chance to ask about what happened to him, where his parents were, and what his name was. He was continuously instructed to remain quiet on information regarding himself if anyone outside of the science department had him, so he did. The woman, seeing his reluctance, didn't pry any further, settling for regarding him solemnly.

After eating what was probably the most _delicious_ meal he ever had, Sephiroth found himself nodding off to sleep at the feeling of the woman - Claudia, as she introduced - tucking him into bed.

When he woke up, he felt several degrees better than the day before. He took a look at his surroundings and saw that Claudia's son, Cloud - Sephiroth was honestly confused about the similarity of their names - was the only one around, sitting on the bed beside him and appearing to be reading something before. "Mom is out for work."

Yesterday, he learned that it was Cloud who found him unconscious at their doorstep and got him in. Sephiroth thought he should act grateful - at least, according to what professor Gast had taught him - but he didn't know how to start.

A moment of silence fell between the two of them. Cloud returned to reading and Sephiroth returned to observing, until Sephiroth couldn't hold back his curiosity anymore and asked, "What are you reading?"

Cloud paused, blinking as if surprised to be addressed. "Oh, it's a comic."

"A comic?" What was that?

"You know, kinda like books, but with pictures." When Sephiroth appeared to be even more confused, Cloud got up to show him, lying the comic spread for him to see.

It took more explaining from Cloud to get a grasp of what a comic was, and then Sephiroth was slowly finding it enjoyable to read. Cloud made it much easier, enthusiastically and earnestly telling him all what he needed to know, beaming and no longer hesitant to approach him.

One after another, Sephiroth soaked it all up; he never knew such exciting thing existed, and he never had anyone his age who'd share this with him. In that brief time, he forgot where he came from and the reality of his life, imagining himself as just another kid Cloud was showing the latest edition of MakoMan to.

* * *

When Sephiroth woke up, he was in the labs again. Not a moment appeared to have passed between the time he picked up the materia and now.

The small house, the warmth of a home-cooked meal, and the treatment he received from both the son and mother came into mind.

Was it all just a dream?

He felt heat then, and he looked down to see the materia's glow fading.

_Maybe it wasn't._

* * *

_Consider every possibility, even the most absurd one - especially the most absurd one._

That was professor Gast's motto, one that he made sure Sephiroth learned by heart.

He was transported to a different point in time by the materia, Sephiroth theorized. Whether it was the future or the past was unknown. Years passed by since he discovered the materia. He was ten now, and alone in his room, he studied the materia when he had nothing else to do.

At the end of one unremarkable day - filled with finishing one battle simulation after another - Sephiroth closed his eyes to sleep, his hand holding the materia close just like he always did. He opened them, though, when he heard an odd sound.

He wasn't in the labs anymore.

The bright sun hit his eyes, in a way it never did before. It didn't take Sephiroth long for him to conclude that he was on a ship. Wanting to become familiar with his surroundings, he decided to explore.

The hum of the materia in his pocket gave him an idea of what happened. He asked the nearest person what the date was by year, and with a raised eyebrow, he was told it was the Four Zeros. It was Sephiroth's turn to be baffled, at that, so he got a sigh before an explanation.

"The new _millennium_, boy! The end of the Wutai War!"

The war he was being prepared to be deployed in?

_And the date... ten years into the future..._

As he slowly took that fact in, Sephiroth observed the people around him more closely - even if he knew it was useless because he never had been outside enough to know what changed along the years - and away from people, there was a lone person bent over the ship's railing that caught his eye. Not bothering to determine why, Sephiroth found himself approaching.

Familiar features came into view when the person straightened - of bright blue eyes and blonde hair, although the eyes looked tired and the hair was longer than what he remembered - and before he could call out the name that formed in his mind, the other - _Cloud_ \- glared as he wiped his mouth. "What are you looking at, kid?" He scoffed before he walked past him to sit on a bench. "Forget it, I don't even wanna know..."

At first, Sephiroth was hurt - how could Cloud just... forget about him like that when he _remembered_? - and then he was angry; he couldn't _dismiss_ him like this. So Sephiroth did what he thought was the most proper thing to do in this case: he followed and sat right next to Cloud.

"Are you _still_ here?" The annoyance in Cloud's voice was hard to miss despite his disoriented state.

"You're a kid, too," he started, referencing to what Cloud said earlier. When Cloud's discomfort became more obvious, Sephiroth couldn't help but ask, "What's the matter with you?"

"I'm older than you... and that's none of your business, go bother someone else."

Sephiroth didn't.

A couple of days passed, and Sephiroth settled into the routine of following Cloud around the ship, so much that the other passengers started to refer to him as Cloud's friend - a claim that Cloud heavily denied.

It was fun, purposefully annoying Cloud, getting the rise of him. Inwardly, though, Sephiroth wondered about what changed Cloud into this when he was so earnest and friendly before.

He was on the third day, and he was still in the future. Sephiroth was sure the last time he only stayed for two days at most.

He was too immersed in his thoughts that he didn't notice the group of older boys that bumped into him - because he was honestly _too_ well-trained to bump into _anyone_ \- not until he avoided one of them aiming a grab for his shoulder, at least.

"What is it with you and running around the ship, brat?" one of them asked.

"I bet he's one of these spoiled kids that their parents can't control!" another provided.

Despite being incredibly confused - and _angry_, because that latter assumption couldn't be farther from the truth - Sephiroth knew that their intention was to harm him, and before one of them landed a hit he would easily deflect, Cloud was beside him, scowling at his attempted attackers. "Bullying a kid half your size, way to go." His voice was dripping with sarcasm as he stepped in front of him... _shielding_ him.

"No one asked for your opinion, Blondie!"

"And no one asked to have scrubs like you breathing on their faces," Cloud challenged.

Sephiroth knew he should help Cloud out, but he was amazed at how such a scrawny kid like him was able to hold his own against four who were both bigger and older than him. Fortunately, before the fight could grow longer, the ship's captain came and separated them, scolding each one of them and threatening to throw them off deck.

"What?" Cloud asked after he kept staring at him, wiping the blood from his mouth.

"That was a reckless decision to go fight them on your own like that," Sephiroth finally said.

Cloud just snorted in amusement, but Sephiroth wasn't feeling the same at all. "And it was unnecessary for you to defend me, I could've handled it myself."

"Yeah, not buying it, shortie. And a _thank you_ would've been better than receiving this lecture."

"You got in trouble because of me..." And people who got in trouble because of him were always... terminated.

Cloud merely shrugged. "I'm used to it."

There was no reasoning with him, was there? "Thank you, ...?" he started, feigning ignorance about the other's name.

"Cloud. You?"

"... Seth." It was the closest name to his own, so it was easy to come up with.

"You're welcome then, Seth." Maybe his eyes were tricking him, but Sephiroth could've sworn he saw the hint of a smile along Cloud's reply.

* * *

"Here." It was early in the night and yet it was only both of them that were on deck, the other passengers opting to stay inside. Cloud was sitting, his back against the railing after having finished with puking his insides out. Sephiroth thought that some juice and water would help. From what he observed, Cloud didn't bother with food at all and just settled for a diet consisting of liquids and medications.

_Dealing with motion sickness while traveling must be difficult._

_"At least this way I won't have to spend much money,"_ he answered when Sephiroth asked him about it, dismissing his worries.

"Where did you get this from?" Cloud asked; the freshly-packed lemonade was too expensive for Cloud to spend money on.

"A couple on the upper class. I asked." Just like he did with food.

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Why would I?"

Cloud snorted and then smiled. It was almost marveling how his face softened as an effect from it. "So where are you from?"

Sephiroth averted his eyes. "I... don't have a hometown." All he knew was the labs.

Cloud didn't seem too bothered with his answer. "Everyone's got a hometown, shortie. No one told you yet is all."

Maybe... "And where are you from?"

"Nibelheim," he answered with a sigh.

"Is it nice there?"

"For some."

Sephiroth didn't miss the vagueness in Cloud's answers. "And the others?"

"Isn't it past your nap time?" It was a clear sign for him to change topics, so Sephiroth finally dropped it.

"Not really, I'm normally scheduled to sleep an hour later."

Cloud gave him a funny look. "You're one weird kid."

"You're a kid, too," Sephiroth reminded.

Despite saying he'd sleep an hour later, Sephiroth found himself already dozing off, leaning to Cloud's side until he finally had his head placed on his shoulder.

His thoughts fogged from sleep, Sephiroth smiled when he realized that Cloud let him and didn't push him away.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the support!

* * *

**Entwined Lines**

X - XIII

* * *

"Welcome to Junon!"

The ship finally reached to its destination. Junon harbor was rather active, stocks and passengers going in and out. In the midst of the crowds, he and Cloud were an odd sight, standing when everyone and everything around them was moving.

"So... got a place to crash?" Cloud asked, adjusting his worn-out back-pack on his shoulder.

"No." Not only was this not Sehiroth's time, he wasn't even knowledgeable enough about the outside world.

Cloud looked worried for a flash of a moment before he shrugged. "Sheesh, you're so troublesome..." Not even giving him a chance to ask about what he meant, Cloud grabbed his hand and dragged him away.

Cloud's hand was rough and scarred, but it was _warm_. It felt nice, encircled so reassuringly around his.

* * *

"Why are you away from Nibelheim?"

In exchange for a room for them to stay in, Cloud agreed to do whatever he was tasked with by the inn-keeper. Sephiroth wanted to help out, but Cloud refused, saying that he was simply too young for it.

_"I don't want to be a burden."_

_"Who said you are?"_

Still, Sephiroth found himself a job as a paperboy for the inn - after learning the basis of it, Sephiroth found it easy enough - secretly adding what he earned to Cloud's earnings, because he learned that Cloud had an irritating sense of pride that made him refuse help when he most needed it.

In the four days they spent in Junon, they spent most of them working. Today, however, the inn-keeper gave them a day off, and so they took advantage of the break to tour the city before retreating to their room and talk about many different subjects, from the almost personal to the ridiculous.

Sephiroth didn't ask too many questions that hit close to home for Cloud, but he had to know the reason why he traveled all the way here.

Cloud looked hesitant upon hearing his question, in a way that made him so curious about the cause. Opening his back-pack, Cloud took a moment to sort through its contents before bringing out a folded paper and handing it to him.

Unfolding it, Sephiroth saw a title, and under it was a black-and-white picture that, upon seeing, Sephiroth let out a soft gasp.

It was him, older and more mature, but still _him_.

Quite honestly, he didn't entertain too many thoughts about how he'd look like in the future. But now that he was seeing it, he was simply shocked. His short stature, his awkwardly-proportionate limbs, the softness in his face... all were gone.

He looked larger than life._ Awe-inspiring._

He read the title written above **'_Hero of ShinRa Returns Victorious_'** and turned his eyes back to Cloud.

Cloud took his silence as a cue to start speaking, "I want to be strong like him, that's why I'm joining ShinRa, to become an elite SOLDIER."

"SOLDIER?" In his shock, he could only repeat.

_"He's a perfect candidate for the SOLDIER project. A perfect start."_

Sephiroth remembered someone saying that about him, he _knew_ he did.

Slowly, Cloud shed his hesitation as he started explaining, a light Sephiroth didn't recall ever seeing in Cloud's eyes shining - _especially_ when he was talking his older self.

Sephiroth looked at the picture again, wondering what kind of life he was living in this time, what kind of person he grew up to be for Cloud to admire him so strongly.

_"I want to be strong like him..."_

Sephiroth remembered Cloud stepping in front of him, getting into a fight to defend him.

"But you're already strong."

Cloud stopped talking, his eyes widening just a fraction, and then denying his statement as he bashfully scratched the back of his head with a...

"Are you blushing?" Sephiroth tilted his head as he asked, curious and pleased. He was answered with a pillow to the face.

Sephiroth returned the favor in kind, wiping the smirk off Cloud's face upon witnessing the stunned expression he made after the pillow fell.

He didn't realize he would be joyful about throwing random objects at another person, but now he knew he would.

Sephiroth laughed - Cloud later said that he giggled, which he most certainly did _not_ \- when Cloud tripped over a bottle of water at some point in their mock-battle, and while Sephiroth couldn't recognize the language Cloud was mumbling, he was sure he was cursing, quite colorfully too.

That night, Sephiroth slept with a smile on his face.

It was morning when he woke up and saw that he was in the labs again, all alone in his room.

* * *

The sound of rain hitting his tent was grating. His tent was leaking, too, drops of water falling on his face - until it was entirely soaked.

Sephiroth didn't move from his spot, though; lying on his back and aimlessly looking up at his tent's ceiling as he rolled the time materia between his fingers. He was unable to sleep no matter how many times he closed his eyes, so he settled for staying awake and waiting until he was needed.

This was far from his first day on the field, but Sephiroth still wanted out of it. The screams, the cries, the bodies, the blood - it was all growing _too_ much.

He always imagined a life outside of the labs, was actually looking_ forward_ to it, but instead of bright sun and hands that helped him up, he was ordered to lay everything to waste, just like he was always trained to - just like he was born for.

_"If you want to live, boy, you need to survive at the very top."_

Sephiroth had no doubts that he would be terminated if he proved to be a failure - he terminated many failures as a part of his training, after all. So he did his all to survive, and worked everything he could use to his advantage - his youthfulness proving to be his biggest asset.

He was thirteen, and he wanted to _live_. The fame, reputation, and the cheers he was getting along the way were like hollow tunes.

The raindrops were suddenly all over him, and the rate they were falling in rapidly increased.

Sephiroth realized that he was standing in the rain - that his surroundings had changed.

He wasn't in Wutai anymore.

"Seth?" he heard someone calling softly, and his heartbeats considerably picked up their pace. The voice was deeper than what he remembered, but it still carried that same unique accent.

He blinked the rain away from his eyes as he turned to look at the caller, wanting to confirm. Blonde spikes came into view upon removing a helmet, and yes, it was Cloud who was looking in shock at him, wearing some sort of a uniform - it looked like an updated version of the military uniform - and with a rifle tied at his side.

"Hey..." Sephiroth breathed.


	3. Chapter 3

So it became a four-chapter fic, after all.

* * *

**Entwined Lines**

XIII - XVI

* * *

Wordlessly, Cloud took his hand and led him through the crowds to a run-down apartment complex. Sephiroth strangely found himself taking comfort from being led for once.

Cloud's apartment was small - one room connected to a bathroom. It lacked anything special that Cloud thought he should note on, simply handing him a towel to dry himself before fiddling with a water boiler. Sephiroth sat on the lone chair next to the bed, watching as Cloud prepared what he thought was tea for him.

"I got nothing else," Cloud said as he handed him a cup, his tone apologetic. Sephiroth shook his head, quietly sipping his tea and occasionally looking up, only to see that Cloud was looking at him, his eyes showing confusion and disbelief.

He held back from asking, though, until Sephiroth finished, "What happened to you? You just disappeared and... I looked for you _everywhere_."

He knew he should've made up a reason for his disappearances, but Sephiroth was surprised they were noticed by Cloud in the first place. "Why?"

Cloud looked at him as if he said the most idiotic thing he ever heard. "Because I was worried about you."

So he didn't forget him, not_ this_ time. The gears in his thoughts started spinning - Cloud's words rang again and again and _again_ \- and he had to change the subject because he was getting overwhelmed. "Did you make it? To SOLDIER?" From his uniform, he suspected that Cloud didn't, but he could be wrong.

The sudden change of subjects made Cloud pause. "No." He sighed, his smile sad and defeated.

Sephiroth decided that he absolutely hated that look on Cloud's face.

* * *

A couple of days passed and Sephiroth noticed a routine starting to develop between him and Cloud.

Sephiroth would wake up at the crack of dawn on the sounds Cloud made - always so hushed and cautious, but it was unbeknownst to Cloud that he could hear his faintest breath - as he prepared himself for a new workday. He would pretend to be sound asleep as he heard the door closing and, about half an hour later, he would finally get up from the bed - Cloud insisted for him to take it while he slept on the floor with a sleeping-bag - and read the note left on the cupboard by his side. Today's was: _'there's a sandwich in the mini-fridge and some soda. i'll be back by lunch-time.'_ And by the time Cloud did come back, he'd have something for him to entertain himself with later - Cloud offered for him to take a walk outside the first time, but Sephiroth heartily refused so he dropped it.

Cloud brought the latest edition of MakoMan with him yesterday, sheepishly explaining that he liked the comic series as a kid and thought Sephiroth would like it, still not remembering that he showed it to him once before.

He was being a burden again, Sephiroth knew he was, but this time he didn't feel as guilty about it, was actually - _selfishly_ \- wanting more attention from Cloud. But as an infantryman, Cloud's shifts were erratic and random at most - the two days Sephiroth spent with him were enough to prove that. So he understood and didn't hint to his desires at all.

There was something different in the routine this day, however.

Cloud left the cupboard open.

Sephiroth would later come to blame his upbringing for his - _too_ \- curious nature. A heartbeat and he was already searching through the cupboard, looking for anything of interest and came across a paper. The way it was folded was familiar and Sephiroth knew what it was before he even read it.

The article about him, the same one that hailed him as a _hero_ for his role in the Wutai War.

It took his all not to rip it to pieces.

* * *

Even when he woke up, pulled so far away from his nightmares, their sounds rang loudly in his ears, so much that he couldn't hear Cloud calling his name at first.

But when Sephiroth did notice, he saw that Cloud was sitting by his side, hand on his shoulder, the worry so clear in his eyes even in darkness. "Are you alright?"

Sephiroth sat up, running a hand through his hair to compose himself. "I'm alright. It's nothing..." But he couldn't stop panting, couldn't stop _shivering._

And then Cloud's arms wrapped around him, and Sephiroth's face was pressed against the cotton fabric of his blue shirt. It took him a moment too long for him to realize that Cloud was embracing him -_ comforting_ him, and how long had it been since anyone did that for him? - a hand patting his back awkwardly, until Sephiroth slowly became calmer.

Sephiroth didn't pull away, though - he held Cloud_ closer_ \- before he suddenly started, "I found that article you showed me years ago."

"And how did you find it, you nosy little shit?" There was absolutely no accusation in Cloud's voice, only light teasing. "Odin, you must think it's embarrassing for me to have it to this day."

No, not embarrassing... "Why do you idolize him so much?" What was there to idolize?

Chin lightly resting on his head, Cloud told him a story - of him wanting to help out only to cause harm instead, and then getting so consumed by guilt that he started to lash out on others.

"It was then that I heard of_ him_..." Sephiroth couldn't see the expression on Cloud's face, but he nonetheless knew it was as soft as his tone. "I became inspired; if I got strong like him, then I could be worth it, I could protect the ones I couldn't protect before."

The strength... to protect?

He didn't think of something like that when he imagined the reasons why anyone would admire him in the future, but it made him feel inexplicable relief, to be admired for that by Cloud.

"You're ready to talk about your bad dream?" Cloud asked after a comfortable moment of silence. Sephiroth merely shook his head. "Want me to sing you a lullaby then?" There was no hiding the cheekiness in his offer.

"I'm not a kid anymore." Sephiroth huffed. He was almost as tall as Cloud now, and he couldn't help but feel smug about the fact that he'd become much more taller than him in the future. Serves him right for constantly calling him a _shortie_.

"Oh, give me a break. You're like, what? Eleven?"

"I'm _thirteen_." It bothered him unreasonably to be seen as a mere _kid_ by Cloud.

"Off the mark by two years. Big deal." The lightness in Cloud's voice faded when he continued, "And you still haven't told me where you disappeared to."

A reason had to be made for that; he couldn't avoid answering anymore - not when he was directly asked this way. "I was... running away and I got caught." Sephiroth didn't detail any further, letting Cloud draw his own conclusions.

It seemed that Cloud imagined the worst one, because his hand stopped its movement on his back and he pulled away to look at him - and Sephiroth immediately missed the warmth Cloud's embrace offered even if he didn't feel cold at all.

Illuminated only by the city's lights, Cloud's eyes were both captivatingly bright and sorrowful. Sephiroth felt guilty for lying to him - which was a first, because he was taught to never be sorry for anything he did - but how could he explain _time-travel_?

So he pulled Cloud back again, changing the subject to one that was more pleasant, and blissfully falling asleep on the soothing tunes Cloud hummed.

* * *

The moment he woke up, Sephiroth knew there was something amiss. He woke up on his own, after all, and not on the usual sounds of rustling Cloud made.

"Oh, you're up." It took him a moment to realize that yes, Cloud was still here, fresh out of the shower and shirtless. He was drying his hair with a towel as he looked for his uniform and Sephiroth felt his face heat up and averted his gaze, opting to look at the wall. "You okay now?"

It hit him then, that Cloud stayed later than the usual to make sure he was alright. "I'm fine." His body was still so abnormally warm, and his heart was still pounding _and he just couldn't look at Cloud in the eye._

Fortunately for him, although he seemed to be hesitant about it, Cloud didn't press it any further and told him that he asked someone to leave lunch by the door for him before he left.

When Sephiroth checked himself in the bathroom's mirror, he saw that his face was red, that he was undeniably _blushing_. He washed his face and hoped this odd reaction wouldn't occur again around Cloud.

* * *

The following morning, Sephiroth saw a flyer being pushed under the apartment's door and he immediately picked it up before the person behind the door finished pushing it all the way in.

It was announcing a day off for all ShinRa personnel due to a ceremony being held at the Junon base. As the flyer listed, there would be many important figures attending the ceremony..._including_ his future self.

His first thought was that Cloud would surely take the chance to attend the ceremony. The second was that he wasn't bothered by that at all.

It rather surprised him, then, when the day of the ceremony arrived and Cloud still didn't look like he was preparing himself to go any time soon.

When Cloud asked him if he wanted to play cards, Sephiroth couldn't take it anymore. "There's a ceremony ShinRa is holding."

"So you got one of the flyers, huh?" Cloud brought out the cards regardless of his answer, mixing them with expertise. "Yeah, that's the reason why we got a day off today."

"Aren't you going?"

"Not interested."

"Sephiroth is going to be there." It was odd to refer to himself as another person, but he guessed it was something he had to get used to.

Cloud paused and in a blink of an eye resumed his mixing. He shrugged before he handed him four cards. "Guess he'll be."

Sephiroth _knew_ that Cloud wanted to attend, the softness in his voice when he spoke about his future self, the pausing that cut through his nonchalant act, they told of how _highly_ Cloud placed him.

But he was here, in his pajama pants and shirt, teaching him how to play cards. He chose to spend his day off with him instead of going out to see the one he admired so greatly.

"You're gonna lose if you keep spacing out so much." The smile Cloud had was loop-sided, amused and fond.

Sephiroth felt his body warming up again, but instead of finding himself unable to look at Cloud like before, he couldn't get himself to look away from him.

* * *

Back when he lived in the labs, Sephiroth passed the time by observing the people working around him. As a result, he quickly noticed two lab-workers, both being of the few that didn't treat him as something to study - Mindy and Lin, if he remembered correctly - becoming closer and closer to each other, often seeing them working in contentment together. One day, he caught them in a quiet corner, locked in an embrace and their lips pressing. They pulled away from each other as if burned when they noticed him, looking so utterly embarrassed. He curiously asked them about what they were doing, and after exchanging a few conflicted looks, it was Lin that approached him, kneeling down to his level before she answered, "Kissing..."

"Kissing?" His confusion must've showed, because she looked back at Mindy helplessly.

Mindy sighed and took the role of explaining for him. "When you like someone in a different way than your family, you kiss them."

"Do I have to?" he remembered asking, and both of them chuckled.

"Not really," Mindy replied.

"But you might want to," Lin continued.

It was a-spur-of-the-moment decision, made with thoughts that robbed him the sleep and a pounding heart. He was glad it was dark, because he didn't think he'd be able to do this when there was light in the room.

Cloud was lying on his back, his arm folded behind his head, deep in his thoughts. He didn't notice him approaching yet, so Sephiroth leaned close and kissed him, so briefly. He was on the bed before Cloud even realized what happened.

He knew he shouldn't have done it, but his lips _tingled_ pleasantly regardless.

In the morning, Cloud didn't mention anything about it and treated him just the same. Sephiroth didn't know whether to be relieved or hurt.

Then again, why risk his current situation with Cloud for feelings and urges he didn't come to understand yet?

* * *

A couple of days later, Sephiroth woke up on drops of water falling insistently on his face, eyes not seeing the ceiling of an apartment but a _tent._

He was back in Wutai. The realization made him close his eyes, clenching his fist around the materia with all his might.

* * *

At sixteen, things started to change for him. Instead of being stationed in Wutai, he was now getting assigned on missions. He was meeting more people, too, and seeing more of the planet - Midgar being the latest place he'd been to.

So it was confusing to see that he was in what could be best described as a wasteland, Midgar a faded image in the distance, when he knew for a fact that he left the city only a couple of days ago.

In his confusion, he didn't notice the figure approaching until he heard the sound of something heavy getting dragged. The uniform was the first thing he noticed. It was a SOLDIER uniform, but its color was all wrong - outside of what he knew from the second and third classes.

The hair was what he noticed next and his breath caught in his throat.

Cloud was wearing a SOLDIER uniform. His pace dazed and unbalanced and _odd_. He tripped and got up without a sound.

Sephiroth walked hurriedly towards him, keeping him from proceeding further. He called out his name many times, yet the other didn't seem to notice him at all, didn't even seem to realize that he was being held back as he weakly struggled to go forward. Something _so wrong_ was going on and now that Sephiroth was inspecting him more closely, he saw that the uniform Cloud was wearing was all dirtied and battered, blood that wasn't his own - he didn't see any cuts or signs of injury - covering it. The something that was getting dragged was a sword. His _friend's_, second class Angeal, sword - Sephiroth was sure of it due to the many times he had a closer look at it during their spars.

Sephiroth cupped Cloud's face and made him look at him, and finally, Cloud's unfocused eyes were giving him their undivided attention. They were brighter than what he remembered, mako blue and_ worse_, they were flashing in and out of a slit green like his own.

Cloud continued staring at him, slowly lifting his hand and passing fingers across Sephiroth's face seemingly at random before smiling, and Sephiroth found it hard to breathe again.

Cloud's closeness brought out feelings he tried to bury but to no avail, but now wasn't the time to dwell on them.

"Se..." Cloud started, pulling his hand away. The fondness in his eyes was slowly being replaced by something akin to... _loathing._ "Se..."

"_Sephiroth..._"

Quiet mutter as it was, Sephiroth never heard his name being called with such anger.

* * *

He was in his bedroom in Junon again when he woke up, and he willed himself to believe that what he saw was just a nightmare.

But the materia by his side was glowing brighter than ever, burning through the fabric of the sheets.


	4. Chapter 4

Got the rating to an M. There's nothing explicit really, but just to be on the safe side.

This is the end of the line. Sorry for the delay and thank you for the follows, reviews and faves, they made my days :)

* * *

**Entwined Lines**

XIX

* * *

Every three years. That was the gist of it. From seven to ten to thirteen to sixteen.

Sephiroth didn't have an exact birthday. He was told whatever age he reached a day in each year, always different than the previous. The leaps in time he made helped him determine how long it would take for the next.

So when he woke up on unfamiliar surroundings - right after he was told he was now nineteen, coincidentally - Sephiroth wasn't surprised; how could he when he anticipated the burn and glow of the materia for three years?

However, he was surprised by the tip of a sword pressing on his neck, the narrowed mako-bright eyes of Cloud glaring down at him.

"Don't move." It was a calm command - not said with fear or intimidation like the many he heard in his life. No, in Cloud's eyes there was everything opposite; confident warning not to push his luck.

Although incredibly disheartened by the lack of recognition, Sephiroth was intrigued.

"Who are you?" he decided to ask, trying a new approach.

Cloud's expression turned shocked for just a fraction of a moment before returning to its neutral state. "You know who I am, Sephiroth."

"I don't." Sephiroth challenged, leaning on his elbow and lifting his chin up - he was on a bed, he noticed. "So I must ask again, who are you and why are you holding a sword to my throat?"

There was a slight tilt in Cloud's upper lip, as if he was holding himself back from snarling. He saw Cloud's fingers working quickly on a materia before his world turned dark.

* * *

Sephiroth let out a groan of annoyance the moment he woke up, knowing exactly what happened to him. "I would've accepted silence instead of a Sleep being cast on me."

He was on the same bed, the same room, only it was nighttime instead of day and Cloud wasn't pointing a sword at him anymore, instead sitting on a chair by his side. The look Cloud was giving him was terribly confused - conflicted about something. "Who... are you?"

So it was his turn to be asked that question - although more genuine this time around. "I'm Sephiroth. I was born in a lab, fought in Wutai and now hailed as a hero by ShinRa for it." He wanted to tell Cloud more than that, though. _I'm the boy you showed your collection of comics to. I'm the boy you defended despite your dislike. I'm the boy you took care of without questioning. I'm the boy who still finds himself longing to meet you again..._

But he didn't speak of any of that, staying quiet as Cloud processed his answer.

"_Now?_ What year do you think this is?" Ah, so he caught on.

"Isn't it 1999?" Sephiroth asked back, the perfect picture of innocent confusion.

"No, it's not..." Cloud was staring intensely at him, so much that he thought he could see right through him. "Eleven years had passed since then."

"Oh..." It was quite discontenting to learn just how far he was traveling.

"And my name is Cloud." Curt and clipped, the way Cloud introduced himself.

Sephiroth feared knowing why.

* * *

For the next couple of days, Cloud either watched him – sometimes the looks seemed as if they were to make sure Sephiroth was there, and other times they seemed doubting and unsure of why he didn't try to escape – or talked on his phone. He requested someone to bring him something, Sephiroth could determine from the little he had heard; Cloud was rather good at making the subject of his phone-calls discreet.

Sephiroth met Cloud's quiet way of holding him prisoner nonchalantly, subtly trying to rile him up into revealing why he was regarding him so mistrustfully. It hurt, of course, but whatever it was that he did in this time, he was determined to fix in the period he was allowed to spend here.

Finally, Cloud approached him with a set of files and video-tapes. Sephiroth looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

"Didn't you always want to know more about your past?" He would've noticed how grim the look in Cloud's eyes was despite his indifferent tone, but Sephiroth was too shocked by the prospect of learning what he always craved to do so. "Might as well get to it," Cloud continued, pushing the bundle of files and tapes into his hands.

The files detailed many projects ShinRa had conducted (the details regarding Angeal and Genesis worried him terribly after the initial shock of finding out they were experiments as well had faded), the most highlighted one being himself. The initial objectives of the project (to make new Cetra that would lead ShinRa to an endless source of mako), the circumstances of his birth (he was the first success after many failures and cover-ups), his true biological mother (she wasn't named Jenova but Lucrecia Crescent, a scientist, and she _agreed_), all were written out in full detail for him to read, matching with the hints he collected in his life to be dismissed as lies and fabrication.

The videos showed professor Gast interviewing a familiar-looking woman – wasn't she the one he saw running away from the labs along with her child years ago? – about the Calamity, Jenova – a being that was more virus than human, and one that had no claim of his birth other than injected cells.

Sephiroth didn't notice the time passing, pacing around the room as he read file after file, watched video after video, feeling so uncomfortable in his own skin.

"Why don't you take a break?" The voice speaking those words sounded so distant, and the hand placed lightly on his arm was barely felt. Sephiroth ignored it, focusing his attention on the truth that was unfolding, and when the hand tightened its hold the slightest bit, he moved so fast he couldn't register his body's movements.

He had Cloud pinned against the wall in a choke-hold. The realization of this had him back away, utterly horrified by the thought of him being so out of it that he attacked _Cloud_.

"You're calm now?" This time Cloud's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Sephiroth looked up, expecting to see hurt and mortification in his eyes, but there was nothing but indifference in them as he casually massaged his neck.

"I'm... sorry," Sephiroth managed to say.

"Why?" It was awfully surreal, to see nothing but confusion evident in Cloud's features. "You read the stuff written in there and you got upset. Simple as that."

Cloud's dismissal angered him. "But that isn't an excuse to hurt you, is it?"

Cloud's eyes widened, surprised, before he smiled, halfway between amused and saddened. "No, it's not."

Sephiroth looked at the files he had yet to go through. They weren't many, and it would probably not take him much time to finish them, but...

"Do you want me to make you dinner?" It was an offer born of wanting things to go back to the way he knew and briefly lived with the other; not tense and related so closely to himself. He was getting too absorbed in the facts he was learning of his origins, and Cloud noticed it. He _did_ need a break to gather his wits.

Besides, cooking dinner himself would spare him of the charred gray-matter Cloud seemed to think was food for the night.

* * *

When Sephiroth was finally done with all the files, he had one question he wanted to ask: "What are you gaining by informing me of this?"

"I'm hoping to find out," Cloud answered from his place on the chair, looking at him in intense scrutiny. "As unbelievable as it is, you're from the past. It's the only explanation for why you're acting the way you do."

"And so...?"

"And so you'll need to go with me." Out of nowhere, Cloud brought out a bag and tossed it to him. Sephiroth caught it with one hand and opened it, incredibly curious about what it contained. What was revealed was clothes, sun-glasses and a cap. Sephiroth picked the cap in particular with a look of complete disgust.

"A hair-dye seemed a bit extreme," Cloud explained.

* * *

Cloud drove his motorbike – which, while attractive-looking, had Sephiroth raising an eye-brow upon learning it had a name – in a complete disregard of self-preservation. Sephiroth told himself that he tightened the hold his arms had around Cloud's waist because he was taking the chance to get close to him in the way he wanted for so long, but there was a little part that insisted he was doing it because he didn't like to feel the drag of cement across his skin upon falling.

Surprisingly, the cap on his head and the sun-glasses on his face remained intact and in their place. Sephiroth had asked if the reason why he was disguising himself was because people would still recognize him, and Cloud answered yes, but not for the reasons he was thinking of.

Of course that had Sephiroth asking what those reasons were, Cloud enigmatically told him that he would see.

They were currently passing through a city's ruins, and when Cloud stopped in front of a certain building, when Sephiroth recognized the building with widening eyes, he realized where they were.

Midgar...

The city he remembered was all mako-stench, bustling with the life of its oppressed people, the ShinRa HQ standing tall and looming in the middle.

The city he was seeing now was simply made of what once was. He never thought he'd ever see the ShinRa tower looking so hollow and abandoned, stripped of its glory as it blended with its surroundings.

"I did this?"

"You were a major factor."

He was so focused on the past, he didn't realize that the future had stories to tell.

* * *

There was a new-founded city at the outskirts of one of Midgar's sectors called Edge. Cloud stopped in front of a monument, a meteor falling with the words down reading: _"Keep on Rocking, Midgar"._

A meteor?

Cloud restarted the engine and began, his voice heard clearly despite Fenrir's roaring.

* * *

"_Three years later in your time, you're going to be assigned to a mission in Nibelheim."_

What Cloud told him of on the way to this town rang in mind when he stood before the gates.

"_It will start slow. You will kill a dragon, get rid of monsters, and fix a malfunction in the reactor."_

It was odd, to be tasked with such a routine mission any competent SOLDIER could finish successfully.

"_You will see the creatures in those pods you heard so much about, and then you will start doubting yourself."_

They were still living despite the reactor not functioning for years. Sephiroth could almost hear their agonized moans, could almost see their pained features.

They were similar to him, after all.

"_You will go to the Shinra mansion and discover a hidden lab and library. You will read everything you find there about your origins, and you will believe every word."_

They told a completely different story, these files and books scattered around. What Cloud told him of clashed with the purposeful fate they were painting.

"_You will burn Nibelheim."_

If he looked more attentively, Sephiroth could see that nothing looked the way it should've been in Nibelheim - every sign, every house, every path had something off about the way it was built. The wood was young, the rust in metals was hardly there, and the stones were too even. Once he noticed one detail, the picture became easy to see.

He burned this town. Burned it and ShinRa rebuilt it to cover his actions and keep the public from growing more anxious and rebelling.

(And that was only the _start_).

It was midday when he finished reading the last of what the Shinra mansion had to offer, when he was done staring at the empty pod that once contained his mo- _Jenova._

* * *

It left him hollow, the truth.

* * *

Despite being fake like this abandoned town, the house Cloud was standing in front of brought few fond memories of the first time he met him. "You're done?" Cloud asked, the same question he asked whenever he came to the mansion to bring him out at the end of the night.

"I destroyed the reactor," Sephiroth started, "and I burned the mansion." It was morbidly amusing, how he apparently left the two places that caused him to cast his previous self away intact when he burned and destroyed everything else.

"_Everyone's got a hometown, shortie."_

He didn't just burn Cloud's hometown. He burned down his own as well.

* * *

Sephiroth didn't ask where next were they heading, settling for watching the landscapes change slowly to become those of another region.

He could see that a cave was hidden behind the water-fall they stopped in front of. It was a beautiful place, he mused, looking back at Cloud in puzzlement when he didn't step away from the bike.

"Lucrecia is in there if you want to meet her."

Almost in daze, Sephiroth entered the cave alone, his attention immediately caught by the crystal encasing a woman wearing white. She looked deep in slumber, so beautiful and startlingly_young_.

For the past weeks, upon learning the true identity of his biological mother, Sephiroth thought he'd feel deep hatred and anger if he ever met her, but all he felt now was heartbreak.

"Why?" So many questions his whisper contained.

The crystal was warm even through his gloves, and he wondered for how long had she been caged in it – if she was caged like this in his time as well.

He didn't know if she could hear him, but he didn't care, only conveying his every thought – the fond and the resenting – regarding her.

Sometimes he paused, waiting a moment to see if she'd respond, but she didn't open her eyes.

* * *

For once, Cloud didn't seem as if he was directing him anywhere. In a quiet field, remote of monsters and people, Cloud handed him a sword and gestured for him to follow, not bothering to explain anything, so assured that he'd oblige.

Snorting, fond, Sephiroth followed him.

The sword Cloud had in his possession wasn't the complex-looking one tucked inside Fenrir. It still spoke of an excellent craftsmanship, however, one that resonated in the sword Sephiroth had.

After the revelations he encountered, it was as as if a dam broke, and it didn't surprise Sephiroth that he was the one who attacked first, put more strength and rage in his strikes over how his life had only managed to go downhill by his _own _choice – it didn't matter that Hojo planted the facts in the mansion, he still _believed_ them. He managed to barely calm down when he realized that he was taking it on Cloud _again_. Ashamed, Sephiroth was about halt his attacks when he noticed that every strike he made was being effortlessly blocked, that the moment he slowed, Cloud was pushing him back, until he was almost cornered against a tree.

Sephiroth was never cornered during both spar and battle, so for Cloud to do so admittedly infuriated him. He fought back again, and was surprised how much it took to-

-and Cloud's sword was close to his neck (so much that he felt it cutting skin with his every pant), his own sword uselessly stabbed into the ground.

When Sephiroth stared, astonished, at Cloud, he merely took his sword out of the ground and handed it to him. "If it's any consolation, you'll get better."

Cloud's words confirmed something Sephiroth had briefly suspected, but didn't actually address in his mind. "You killed me, didn't you?"

It explained why Cloud wasn't the slightest bit fearful around him. Why he settled for guarding him on his own. Why he offered a spar without thinking twice about it.

"I did." A simple enough answer. He should've been afraid – wary, at least – but morbid as it was, all Sephiroth felt was elation, _excitement _– it was only expected, that he who always won and _won_, both hated defeat and _craved_ it, if only because victory after being defeated tasted the sweetest.

He looked at Cloud – really _looked_ at him, _took_ into him – and he could see the boy who shared his comics in him, the teenager that slowly befriended him, the infantryman that took him into his apartment without words, the broken man he met on Midgar's borders, and the end result of all.

Sephiroth found it hard to breathe steady when feelings long-unaddressed resurfaced, both the past adoration and the present attraction mixing and Gaia, how he _wanted_ him.

Burying and putting his feelings on the side for years was going to back-fire on him so spectacularly, Sephiroth just knew it.

* * *

"That materia is odd," Cloud started, later in the night around campfire, making Sephiroth realize he was fiddling with it absently.

"Professor Gast noted the possibility that it was an altered time materia." Despite everything, he still respected the man and his conclusions. They did turn out to be right, after all.

"I asked a friend of mine about it when I saw it that first day," Cloud said, making Sephiroth raise an eyebrow. Was that why Cloud was on the phone so often? "After some research, she found scrolls specifying that the materia was mainly used among the Cetra seers by focusing on a bond and destiny one would have with another. The materia's effects and reach varied depending on how powerful the seer who used it was."

Sephiroth had secretly tried to find more clues about the materia for years but didn't find anything of use. He was rather curious on what sources Cloud's friend had learned this all from. "Your friend is a researcher?"

Cloud snorted. "Not really, she's more of an Empress with a huge interest in materia."

"An Empress?" It appeared that Cloud had friends in high places.

"Of Wutai. I think she's eight in your time."

Sephiroth remembered catching a glimpse of Yuffie Kisaragi during negotiations. If that child that wasn't afraid to throw stones at the party ShinRa had sent to her homeland became an Empress, he couldn't imagine Wutai ever being the same.

"So how many times did you travel?" Cloud asked then, frowning when the campfire started flickering down. "I don't think this is your first; you're acting too casual about this."

And here Sephiroth thought he had him tricked. "You're right, it's my fifth." When Cloud kept being silent, as if urging him to continue, Sephiroth did, "I was seven the first time and met a boy and his mother. They treated me well – the boy even showed me his comic collection."

He saw the play of emotions in Cloud's eyes with every word he told about the many times and ways they met, now ending with this one.

"You're... _Seth._" It wasn't a question despite the way it was whispered.

* * *

Afterwords, they just... talked - caught up with what happened in their lives during their meetings and in-between.

From the dismissive descriptions of the 'incidents' that happened to him in his life, Cloud's faulty memory – as he put it – erased his existence until just a few moments ago.

But now that he did remember, it seemed as if one of the barriers separating them was lifted.

"This is unfair, though." Cloud gestured at Sephiroth's whole body, the meaning evidently clear.

Sephiroth smirked. "I'd say it's poetic justice for how much you reveled in teasing me about my height." Pettiness wasn't a quality he'd admit he had, but for this, he was quite happy to do so.

And then Cloud chuckled, light and easy, and Sephiroth knew he had to take advantage of this new understanding between them to get closer, or else he'd wonder What If's and Why's more than he already did.

* * *

They had been traveling on an empty road between every point they headed to, so when monsters did appear to attack them, Sephiroth didn't expect it.

It felt more intimate than an embrace, fighting alongside Cloud like this, back to back and viciously going through the hordes assaulting them relentlessly.

Unconsciously or not, there was one point where Cloud got between him and an upcoming strike, reminding Sephiroth too much of another time where he did the same to be irritated about being protected.

He paid it back, regardless, blocking one of the monsters from Cloud's way when he got distracted for a moment.

Cloud sent him a nod of acknowledgment that Sephiroth returned in kind.

* * *

Sephiroth stood behind Cloud, leaning down to see him disassembling his sword into multiple parts over his shoulder. Cloud paused for the briefest moment before he resumed his work.

"Your sword is quite unique," Sephiroth observed, leaning just a fraction closer to see his face clearly reflected on the blades. "How did you come to acquire it?" He was all but whispering directly into Cloud's ear, but the other didn't push or pull away.

"Years ago, I got a sword made out of a WEAPON." Now _that_ was an interesting material to make swords from, if Sephiroth remembered what he learned about the nature of the WEAPONS correctly. "It didn't work out well with a bike, so I had it broken into pieces and the result was this."

"It suits you." Because it was clearly something Cloud wanted to make his own like his bike, and Sephiroth couldn't imagine something more odd and perfect for him.

Cloud's smile was almost shy, his eyes and tone significantly warmer as he turned to look at him and said, "Thanks."

Sephiroth barely caught himself from kissing him.

* * *

Apparently, Cloud wasn't too picky about which inn to choose to stay the night. A fact proven with the bathroom not having a towel, and since his clothes were being washed, Sephiroth had no choice but to get out of the shower naked and dripping, mood sour. It didn't help that he could still smell the cheap soap and shampoo he had to use on his body and hair.

Cloud was about to say something on his phone, but upon seeing the wet, grumpy and naked image Sephiroth presented, his eyes widened in surprise and he averted his gaze, hurriedly confirming to whoever he was talking with that he was still there. Sephiroth waited for him to finish his call while squeezing water out of his hair.

"Why are you still naked?" Cloud asked the moment he hanged up.

There was something about the way Cloud kept his gaze firmly glued to his face as he addressed him, the way his pupils were the slightest bit _dilated_, how his voice was an octave lower, that had Sephiroth positively _intrigued_.

"I sleep in the nude," Sephiroth decided to answer, ever-so-slowly smoothing his hair away from his neck.

The light flush that crept up Cloud's face was absolutely delightful.

* * *

It was during their spars that Sephiroth noted how varied the looks Cloud gave him were – the wary, the conflicted, and the disbelieving. But there was one look that was coming into life more and more with days passing, a look of fondness mixed with raw _desire_, always a flash directed his way discreetly.

It made Sephiroth's blood _sing_, made him pursue spars more frequently just to have the chance to receive it, made him slowly come to realize that rejection would be nothing in the face of never knowing.

So he said, right after a spar, his breath uneven and body loose of tension, "I want you, Cloud."

Cloud looked so shocked, parting his lips to say something, but Sephiroth raised a hand to stop him, wanting to continue before he had to listen for a reply. "I want you in any way I could have you." A friend, a lover, and even a rival.

He told himself, as he walked away, that he was leaving to give Cloud space, but he knew that was only a part of it.

* * *

When Cloud finally entered their shared inn room, Sephiroth didn't stir or open his eyes, giving the pretense of sleep – not even when Cloud went for Sephiroth's bed instead of his own, felt the shift of the mattress under his weight.

"You were a lot of first things to me, in both ways." Sephiroth sat up, giving up the act and listening intently to what Cloud had to say. Cloud had his back turned on him, not looking at him as he continued speaking, "You were my first idol, and then my first friend. You were the first person I fantasized about, and then you were my first kiss. You were the first person I truly hated, my first kill, just like how you were the first person other than my mother that made me happy."

"I shouldn't feel like this." Cloud finally sighed, heavy and burdened, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"But you _do_ feel like this," Sephiroth replied, leaning forward to place a gentle kiss on Cloud's nape. "You want me as much as I want you. Why not touch instead of look for once?"

Cloud's breath hitched, and he only seemed to lean _towards_ him instead of away. "This mind-games thing is really a part of your character, huh?"

"I am the same person." He kissed the side of his jaw and placed a hand on Cloud's chin, turning him to face him before whispering against his lips, "You say that you fantasized about me in the past, then I need to tell you that it was the same for me." Sephiroth could deny all he wanted, but the fact that his first time was with an infantryman, that he had him wear the helmet through it all – to keep this anonymous, he remembered saying, but in reality it was to keep the illusion – said something.

It was a gorgeous sight, to see lust darkening Cloud's bright eyes.

"We should make those fantasies a reality, don't you think?" Sephiroth laid back down, and noted with pleasure how Cloud seemed at loss at the distance formed between them.

A moment didn't pass when Cloud leaned down to kiss him, soft and growing passionate and demanding with every fraction of a second.

And unlike the sharpness and swiftness in his fighting style, Cloud was all thorough and slow, seeming to revel in studying every patch of his skin to play him as he wished. Every time Sephiroth demanded him to go harder and faster on him, Cloud only managed to get more teasing and all-too-willing to drag this for eternity, holding him on the brink until he had to _beg_.

And when Cloud smirked and obliged, Sephiroth gasped his name like mantra, coming undone beneath him.

Sephiroth barely caught his breath when he flipped them around, kissing Cloud like starved. The completely entranced and reverent way Cloud was looking at him only managed to spur him on further. Knowing that Cloud could take everything he had to give and _more_ didn't help with controlling himself – not that Cloud seemed to mind; in fact he only asked him to go even rougher.

Closer and closer to release, Cloud started repeating, "Se..." before getting cut by a moan. Sephiroth couldn't determine whether it was his real name or the fake one he gave, but he liked to think it was both.

When Cloud came - with the most _sensual _arch Sephiroth had the pleasure to see - Sephiroth smirked back, and in retaliation, Cloud rolled his eyes, too fucked-out for the moment to do anything more.

* * *

At the crack of dawn, Cloud stirred awake. He was about to get up when Sephiroth tightened the hold his arm had on his waist.

"So is this going to be a thing now? You using your long limbs to stop me from getting up?"

Sephiroth only hummed _yes_, burying his face on the crook of Cloud's neck.

Cloud chuckled and stayed in his place.

* * *

Sephiroth liked how it was an option now, when Cloud was asking, "Do you yield?" with the most _infuriating_ smirk, to place his sword aside and drag him close for a kiss.

* * *

It was quite easy for Sephiroth to forget where he stood in the world, that this wasn't his place or time to stay and live in.

Seeing Cloud inspecting the materia reminded him. "I theorize that the materia guided me to you because you killed me and I kept coming back still. It seems like a strong bond forged out of vengeance." Even if he himself didn't want anything to do with it now.

"You're not going to return to this time," Cloud said, and it was so sudden that Sephiroth blinked as he processed it. "You know now what you didn't before."

"Changing things in my time would affect this future..." How come he never thought of this before? He couldn't leave things unchanged, not with what he knew, but the price was erasing everything that happened in this time, and he would never have this future to return to after another three years.

"It's for the better. You're going to make it better." Cloud smiled, and it was such a sad, resigned smile that Sephiroth felt angry.

He would've been happy for someone to show such faith in him, but not now, not for _this._

* * *

"I'll miss you, you know," Cloud murmured, tucking a stray strand of silver behind Sephiroth's ear.

It was late at night and both of them were undressed and tangled in the sheets, breath uneven and bodies flushed.

Sephiroth didn't want to hear this. He wanted to forget about the subject until his inevitable departure arrived. But even when Cloud didn't mention it, his mind refused to have it ignored.

"Look for me, alright?"

Sephiroth wanted to reply, say something along the lines of 'You're here right now, that's all what matters', but it was as if Cloud knew this would happen and Sephiroth would find himself in his apartment a moment after he finished speaking, the mateira in his hand cold and colorless.

* * *

In the morning, Sephiroth started changing the world.

* * *

Years later, Sephiroth stumbled upon a bounty-hunter. Spiky blonde hair, with too bright blue eyes, and a familiar glare.

"What are you looking at?"

_"Look for me, alright?"_

With a smile that was halfway between heartbroken and happy, Sephiroth (re)introduced himself.


End file.
